Sporting KC signs MLS veteran Jacob Peterson

Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday that the club has signed 25-year-old forward Jacob Peterson. Per club policy, terms of the agreement will not be disclosed.

“It's an exciting time here,” Peterson said. “I want to increase the overall depth of the team. I think we're all going in the right direction and together we can achieve a lot this year."

“Jacob is a player that we feel is going to fit in very well with our team right away,” Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes said. “He’s a player that I’ve worked with, and we feel his experience from playing a number of seasons in the League will be valuable for us.”

Born in Portage, Mich., Peterson was a member of the United States Under-17 Men’s National Team that advanced to the round of 16 at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championships in Finland. After the World Championships, Peterson enrolled at Indiana University, helping the Hoosiers to two NCAA titles in 2003 and 2004.

As a freshman in 2003, Peterson scored the championship-winning goal against St. John’s to earn offensive MVP honors at the College Cup. In 2004, Peterson scored the opening goal of the College Cup final against UC-Santa Barbara as Indiana went on to win the title in penalty kicks.

Peterson’s exploits at the college level earned him a place on the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team roster for the 2005 World Youth Cup in Holland, where he featured in all four matches for the U.S. and scored the game-winning goal in the final match of the group stage against Egypt.

Drafted 21st overall by the Colorado Rapids in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, Peterson made an immediate impression in MLS, scoring four goals and notching three assists in a rookie season that saw him earn 17 starts for the Rapids. Peterson would go on to make a total of 92 appearances for Colorado before being traded to Toronto FC prior to the start of the 2010 season.

In July 2011, Peterson was part of a blockbuster trade between Toronto and San Jose that sent Peterson, forward Alan Gordon and midfielder Nana Attakora to the Earthquakes in exchange for Ryan Johnson, allocation money and an international roster slot.

In six professional seasons, Peterson has nine goals and 10 assists in 138 regular season appearances.